HAGERSTOWN, MD - Maryland lawmakers changed the child passenger safety law so that all children under eight years must ride in an appropriate child restraint unless they're tall for their age.
"There was an exemption for children over 65 pounds or 4' 9". Now they've dropped the pounds so it's just 4' 9", but it's much safer for a child to be in a booster seat than just a regular seat belt," says Tracey Weaver, with the Community Rescue Service in Hagerstown.
A child restraint is either a car or booster seat, or another federally approved harness.
Several local programs, like the Community Rescue Service in Hagerstown, will check your child safety seat for free.
One of the biggest mistakes that parents make when they buckle their kids in is leaving the safety belt too high. Inspectors say, just like adults, you want the belt to rest on your shoulder, between your neck and your arm.
Moving your car seat buckles even a few inches could be the difference from children riding safely or not.
To check out the easy five-step test to see if you've installed your child safety seat correctly, click here.
"There was an exemption for children over 65 pounds or 4' 9". Now they've dropped the pounds so it's just 4' 9", but it's much safer for a child to be in a booster seat than just a regular seat belt," says Tracey Weaver, with the Community Rescue Service in Hagerstown.
A child restraint is either a car or booster seat, or another federally approved harness.
Several local programs, like the Community Rescue Service in Hagerstown, will check your child safety seat for free.
One of the biggest mistakes that parents make when they buckle their kids in is leaving the safety belt too high. Inspectors say, just like adults, you want the belt to rest on your shoulder, between your neck and your arm.
Moving your car seat buckles even a few inches could be the difference from children riding safely or not.
To check out the easy five-step test to see if you've installed your child safety seat correctly, click here.
